IPerhaps just a coincidence of scheduling, this influential documentary is being released just as a heated debate is brewing at school gates about children’s use of smartphones and social media. So, while it’s definitely a problem that tech platforms are trying to poison and exploit the minds of young people, The Amazing Life of Evelin is at least an issue for some people who are isolated by online gaming in the real world, i.e. IRL. offers a fascinating counterargument as to how it could be a lifeline for Just like the kids want to say.
Born in 1989, Mads Steen, like many other Norwegian children of his generation, was energetic, kind-hearted, and unusually fair-skinned. However, his parents, Robert and Trude, soon discovered that he had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This genetic disease impaired his ability to move and breathe, and ultimately led to his death at the age of 25. By that point in 2014, Robert, Trude, and Mads had been playing World of Warcraft online for hours, using special equipment to accommodate Mads’ disability, and their sister Mia was blogging about their lives. I knew that it had been published.
Then they signed on to a blog to announce his death, thinking that very few people would read it. Then I got a bunch of emails back. It turns out that Mads was logging into Warcraft under the name Evelin and was using an able-bodied computer. The red-haired (yet quite pale) Avatar had built up an extensive network of friends over the years. Evelin was courting women in this digital world, and at one point was a playboy, but more importantly, he was deeply liked for his kindness and empathy. His sage advice, for example, helped a Danish mother and her son (a young man with autism) develop a unique relationship through online interactions. Mats may have spent most of his time alone in his apartment upstairs, away from his family (aside from medical and support staff), but WoW gave him a community.
Using an archive of thousands of words of correspondence between Mads/Ibelin and her friends, the film uses WoW-style animation to recreate Evelin’s digital life. This means the full range of physiognomy of fantasy characters of all colors, shapes, and sizes. However, all have thick thighs, disproportionately enlarged forearms, and, in the case of women, huge breasts. But if you’re not a gamer, feel free to scoff all you want. Because it’s almost impossible not to shed a tear by the end, watching the emotional craft and shape of this story, which is almost perfectly wrapped around an eclectic collection of digital friends. We paid our respects to them around Ibelin’s modest grave.
Source: www.theguardian.com
